With Hillary Clinton in the running for president this year, many progressives have been watching the primary season with some trepidation. Those of us who lived during the 1990s remember the poisonous political atmosphere of the time, the limitless smears and attacks, the unremitting accusations and endless investigations, all boiling down to a doomed impeachment effort based on sex.
The Republican lineup this year is so uninspiring that the "None of the Above" candidate routinely wins opinion polls. The candidates spend half their time running as far away from George W. Bush as they can and the other half embracing his War on Terror™ while promising more of the same. GOP voters are likewise unimpressed by their choices this year, and the party's fear-and-smear tactics aren't working. Primary turnout is down this year, and the way it's going, many GOP voters may refuse to vote in November.
That may all change if Hillary gets the nomination. In his New York Times column today, Paul Krugman says that Hillary is not unique and that any Democrat elected this year will face the same relentless attacks that Bill Clinton did when he became president. He's right, of course. The current crop of Republicans is so politically and morally bankrupt that destruction is all they know how to do.
But that doesn't mean we have to make it easy for them.
During the 1990s, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton was attacked as "Hitlery," a Lady Macbeth-type who had her political opponents bumped off. Unfortunately, many Republicans believed the smears and still believe them today - which is why GOP bigwigs are probably praying for a Clinton nomination. That way, they can drag out all the old smears and use the specter of "President Hillary" to scare voters into supporting the eventual Republican nominee - whoever it turns out to be - for the simple reason that he is Not Hillary.
The old bugaboo of "electability" has been used to oppose progressive candidates for years. Voters are told that they have to support someone they don't really agree with just because the person they really support is guaranteed to spark ferocious opposition.
But this time, this concern may really be valid.
The Republican lineup this year is so uninspiring that the "None of the Above" candidate routinely wins opinion polls. The candidates spend half their time running as far away from George W. Bush as they can and the other half embracing his War on Terror™ while promising more of the same. GOP voters are likewise unimpressed by their choices this year, and the party's fear-and-smear tactics aren't working. Primary turnout is down this year, and the way it's going, many GOP voters may refuse to vote in November.
That may all change if Hillary gets the nomination. In his New York Times column today, Paul Krugman says that Hillary is not unique and that any Democrat elected this year will face the same relentless attacks that Bill Clinton did when he became president. He's right, of course. The current crop of Republicans is so politically and morally bankrupt that destruction is all they know how to do.
But that doesn't mean we have to make it easy for them.
During the 1990s, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton was attacked as "Hitlery," a Lady Macbeth-type who had her political opponents bumped off. Unfortunately, many Republicans believed the smears and still believe them today - which is why GOP bigwigs are probably praying for a Clinton nomination. That way, they can drag out all the old smears and use the specter of "President Hillary" to scare voters into supporting the eventual Republican nominee - whoever it turns out to be - for the simple reason that he is Not Hillary.
The old bugaboo of "electability" has been used to oppose progressive candidates for years. Voters are told that they have to support someone they don't really agree with just because the person they really support is guaranteed to spark ferocious opposition.
But this time, this concern may really be valid.
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